Lady Griz to face another Big 12 unbeaten - University of Montana Athletics

Another game, another match-up against an unbeaten team from the Big 12 for the Lady Griz.

The Montana women's basketball team will wrap up its two-game road trip with visit to Kansas State on Tuesday, with tip-off scheduled for 10 a.m. (MT) from Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan.

The Lady Griz (1-1) opened their road trip with a 97-53 loss at BYU on Saturday afternoon in Provo.

The Wildcats (3-0) have opened the season with three straight home wins, over Wichita State, Southern Indiana and Texas-Rio Grande Valley, while allowing 41, 47 and 39 points.

Coverage: Tuesday's game will stream on ESPN+ with local coverage on KGRZ (1450 AM/92.7 FM) with Asher Lynde calling the action.

Montana notes:

* The Lady Griz have opened the season with a pair of one-sided results, winning 91-45 at home over Montana Western and falling 97-53 at BYU on Saturday.

* In Saturday's loss, Montana built a 13-9 lead midway through the first quarter behind the 3-point shooting of Paige Lofing and Dominique Nesland.

* The Cougars answered with a 7-0 run and would hold the lead the rest of the game, going up 23-18 after the first quarter, 46-31 at the half.

* Leading 67-44 after three quarters, BYU pulled away in the fourth, putting up 30 points on 11-of-17 (.647) shooting and hitting five of its nine 3-pointers in the final period.

* For the game, BYU shot 56.1 percent, went 12 for 25 from the 3-point line, out-scored Montana 44-10 in the paint and finished with a 46-22 rebounding advantage.

* BYU's 97 points were the fifth-most ever allowed by Montana.

* After scoring 11 points off the bench against the Bulldogs, Lofing made her first career start on Saturday and led Montana with 18 points. She went 4 for 9 from the 3-point line.

* Nesland had her second double-figure scoring outing in as many games, finishing with 14 points and a team-high five rebounds.

* No other players scored more than five points for Montana. BYU limited Avery Waddington to five shot attempts and five points. She had three rebounds, two assists, a block and a steal.

* Montana has shot well from the 3-point line in both games this season, going 11 for 29 (.379) against Western, 9 for 23 (.391) against the Cougars.

* In the early-season national statistics, the Lady Griz are tied for 25th in 3-pointers made per game (10.0) and tied for 38th in 3-point percentage (.385).

* Lofing has gone 6 for 13 (.462) from the 3-point line through two games, leading the team in both makes and attempts.

* Montana will host Houston of the Big 12 on Friday night. The Cougars are 2-0 and host Stephen F. Austin on Tuesday night before traveling to Missoula.

Kansas State notes:

* The Wildcats will enter Tuesday's game with a record of 3-0 after defending their way to an unbeaten start.

* Wichita State, Southern Indiana and UTRGV averaged 42.3 points on 28.6 percent shooting against Kansas State, with the Wildcats holding those teams to 11-of-57 (.193) shooting from the 3-point line.

* Kansas State won by scores of 61-41 over Wichita State, 61-47 against Southern Indiana and 68-39 over Texas-Rio Grande Valley.

* The Wildcats were picked ninth out of 16 teams in the Big 12 preseason coaches' poll. Oklahoma State (7 first-place votes), TCU (6), Baylor (2), West Virginia (1) and Kansas were the top five.

* Kansas State finished 19-18 a season ago. The Wildcats won three games at the Big 12 tournament, over Cincinnati, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, to make the semifinals before falling to TCU.

* Kansas State defeated Georgia Tech at home in the WBIT before falling to California, also in Manhattan.

* The Wildcats are coached by Jeff Mittie, who is in his 13th season at Kansas State. He previously coached at TCU (1999-2014), Arkansas State (1995-99) and Missouri Western (1992-95).

* In his first 12 seasons at Kansas State, Mittie led the Wildcats to 10 national tournaments, including six NCAA Tournament appearances. He is approaching 700 career wins.

* Mittie's 2024-25 team went 28-8 and made it the to the Sweet 16 before falling to USC.

* Through three games this season, Kansas State has four starters averaging between 10.0 and 11.7 points per game.

* Six-foot-5 junior center Tzoana Tampakou is averaging 11.7 points on 71.4 percent shooting, 6-foot-2 freshman forward Shaila Nde is averaging 10.0 points and 8.7 rebounds.

* Kansas State's 12-player roster features players from Belgium, Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Slovenia.

* Through four games, the Wildcats have a scoring margin of +21.0 while forcing more than 19 turnovers per game.

Series history:

* Montana and Kansas State are playing for the fourth time, the first time since 1989. Kansas State leads the series 2-1.

* Unranked Montana lost 64-62 in overtime against No. 6 Kansas State in December 1983 at the Giusti Tournament of Champions in Portland. Both teams would make the NCAA Tournament that season.

* Cassandra Jones had 17 points for the Wildcats, Sharla Muralt totaled 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Lady Griz, who forced 27 turnovers to hang in a game they shot 33.8 percent.

* The teams played a home-and-home series during the 1988-89 and 1989-90 seasons, with the home team winning both games.

* Kansas State won 66-65 in Manhattan in November 1988, one of only four losses for Montana that season, the last coming at Texas in the second round of the NCAA Tournament.

* Montana led 28-21 at the half before Kansas State out-scored the Lady Griz 45-37 over the final 20 minutes.

* Lisa McLeod had 18 points and 10 rebounds, Jean McNulty 17 points and 11 rebounds for Montana. Nadira Hazim totaled 17 points for Kansas State.

* The next season in Missoula, the Lady Griz won 77-62, part of a 27-3 campaign. Shannon Cate had 26 points, nine rebounds and five assists as Montana limited Kansas State to 28.8 percent shooting.

Upcoming: A return home for a match-up against Houston, then on the road to face Gonzaga next week.

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Avery Waddington

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